"Clay, I swear if you don't stop staring, I am going to stab your eyes out!" I threaten, pointing my knife at him. Clay had gone back to being his creepy self, which meant that he started staring at me again. I almost preferred it when he was spacing out and being all emotionless. I had gotten a large baguette for my loaf of bread, along with a knife that had a wooden handle and a stone blade. I was cutting the bread into slices when Clay's stare had finally gotten on my last nerves. Clay raised his hands in surrender and took a bite out of his turkey leg, turning his eyes to something across the room. I set down my knife and handed Amethyst a slice of bread. Amethyst had gotten half a block of cheese and a knife as well. She cut her cheese into slices, laid one onto her bread and took a bite. She passed me some cheese to put on my bread, which I did, taking a bite out of my snack. After I swallowed I took a sip of my cider. It was cold and sweet. "This is fun." I thought, taking another bite of my bread and cheese. "There aren't places like this back home." Kate was on her second mini meat pie. She tossed the last piece of it into her mouth and chewed. "So, Clay said suddenly. He looked at me. Where are you from, my love?" At the words, "my love," I burst into an explosion of sputtering and coughing. Kate and Clay looked surprised at my choking. "Are you ok?" Kate asked, worried. "Aira, why are you choking?" Amethyst, knowing me the best, pursed her lips and looked deep in thought before knowing why I had acted the way I did. "Aira, was it the my love thing?" She said, partially confused. I manage to nod as I tried to remember how to breathe. "Wait, Aira why would- oh." It suddenly hit her. "Oh Aira, is it because that's what Laurance always says? Are you still hung up on what happened to him?" "Of course I am!!" I cry, covering my face with my hands. "Who's Laurance?" Clay asked, a slight growl in his voice. "He's not a real person." Amethyst explained, rubbing her forehead. "He's a character from our favorite series called Minecraft Diaries by a person called Aphmau. He's Aira's favorite character, and she gets over emotional every time something reminds her of him. He has a very, um, heart wrenching story."

"He literally died for Aphmau!"
I said nearly shrieking, earning some looks from people by nearby tables. "Oh Laurance WHY?!?!"
"Aira don't you dare start fan girling!!" Amethyst warned, knowing how I get. "Ok, ok!" I took some deep breaths and calmed down. "Wow. If Aira likes this character so much, the series must be amazing!" Kate exclaimed. "It's pretty good." Amethyst said, smiling. "Huh, so you have pretty high standards, don't you Aira?" Clay asked, bemused. "What's that supposed to mean?" I mumble at him, crossing my arms. "I'm just saying, if this Laurance character causes you to react like that, then your standards for guys must be pretty high up there." I fight the urge to pick up the knife. Clay shook his head and tilted back on his chair. "You know what? I've decided. I'm going to call you my love from now on." He said. "Are you serious right now?" Amethyst asked, tilting her head. "Why wouldn't I be?" "Ugh, whatever. I scoff, turning my head away from him. I hope you fall off that chair, the way you keep tilting it." I added. Kate looked between us, extremely confused. "Wait, what's going on?" She asked, eyebrows knitted together.

"Nothing Kate. You'll understand when your older." Clay answered.

"Aw, growing up sounds weird!"

"That's because it is."

"Aw, boo!" Kate pouted.

I couldn't help but let out a chuckle at her response. "So Amethyst, Clay said, turning to her. I heard from Evan that you're pretty good at singing." Amethyst's cheeks went a bit red. "He-he-he did?" She stuttered, picking at her cheese and bread. "Yes. He said that he heard you and that you sounded great." "Oh." She squeaked. I roll my eyes as I listen to the conversation. "W-well that's nice of him to say. But Aira is pretty good at singing too." She said quickly. "Hey leave me out of this!" I protest, but it was too late. Oh she sings, does she? Clay asked, tilting his head and smirking. "Yeah, so what?" I snap, glaring at Amethyst. She raised her hands in apologize. "Why don't you demonstrate, my love?" He said smoothly. I flinch a bit at "my love," but reply: "No." "Why not?" "Because I said so." The conversation ended at that.

I took a drink of cider and went back to eating. Clay and Amethyst did the same. Kate picked up her last pie and brought it to her mouth. It was suddenly snatched away from her. "HEY!" She cried looking around. Startled, I looked at who had stolen Kate's snack. It was a guy, probably Clay's age, but that was it for the similarities. This guy was large and wore a tailored suit that was wasted on a person like him. His face was mean looking. In one of his large hands he held Kate's meat pie and in the other was a mug of what smelled like whiskey or something alcoholic. He swayed a little and kept shaking his head as if to clear it. He was obviously drunk. "That's mine!" Kate said, reaching to grab it back. "Now it's not!" The guy snorted and then stuffed the entire pie into his mouth. "Hey, what the hell's wrong with you?!" Amethyst yelled jumping up. I jumped up as well, fuming. The guy looked at us, an annoyingly superior look on his face.

"What? She's a witch! An orphan at that! She only gets to stay because we let her. Her own parents didn't want her! No one wants her!" He declared, smugly.

I was enraged. How dare he say something like that! Kate opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water. She finally shut her mouth, eyes wet, and looked down. She started visibly shaking. It didn't take a genius to figure out she was trying her best not to cry. "Derik. . ." Clay said warningly. Amethyst went to Kate's side and rubbed her back comfortingly. "There there, it's ok. It's ok." She whispered. She then looked at me, eyes full of anger. "Aira." "Yes?" "Make him hurt." She said simply. The guy's (I guess his name is Derik) face immediately became confused. He looked at me and smirked. "Ha! A girl's going to fight me? What a joke!" "Your right. I'm not going to fight you." I admit. "I'm going to end you." I grabbed my plate and slammed it into the side of his head. Some people leap up and run out of the tavern, while other people just watched, shocked. Since the plate was wooden it (sadly) didn't hurt Derik very much. It more fazed him. He had dropped his mug and stared at me in disbelief. He then got over his shock and swung his fist at me. I jumped aside and shoved my elbow into his stomach. He doubled over at clutched his stomach. I then kicked him between his legs. He collapsed and howled in pained. "Shut up." I growl and kick him some more. He whimpered and curled into a ball. I look at him and then shake my head and turn away. A strong yank on my ankle sent me toppling to the floor. Derik hand grabbed my leg and pulled me down. Even more pissed off, I kicked him in the face. He let go of my ankle and covered his bleeding nose. I get up and grab the knife I had been cutting my bread with. Derik stumbled up, still unsteady on his feet. His face was now a bloody mess, blood streaming from his nose and onto his clothes. Seeing the knife he let out a yelp and scramble away from me. "This girl is psycho!" He wailed. "Someone please help, she's insane!"

I was going to advance on him but felt a hand clasp my wrist. I turned and saw that Clay had a firm grip on my wrist. "Put the knife down Aira. He's done. Don't cause yourself to be in any trouble over him." He said calmly. I pursed my lips and stared at him. "I'm not the enemy here. I'm trying to help." His voice was sincere. I loosened my grip on the knife and Clay let go of my arm. "Arrest her or something!" Derik yelled at him. Clay shrugged and sat back down. "I warned you that if you kept messing around with people that eventually you would get hurt. You had this coming." "But she's psycho!" Derik cried. I tighten my grip on the knife and pointed it at him again. He gave a startled yelp and ran out of the tavern like a bat outta hell.

The whole tavern was silent. Nobody moved. I breathed hard and stared at the floor. "Aira? Are you ok?" I look up and see Mr. John standing in front of me, eyeing the knife still clutched in my hand.

"I'm. . . I'm sorry, Mr. John. I say. I caused a mess. . ."

"No, not a mess really. But you certainly scared some people. Don't worry dear, I'm not. . . I'm not mad. That punk had it coming."

"I'm still sorry. I shouldn't have freaked out I guess."

"Yes well, I suppose that is true. But it's done now. And no one was really hurt. That's all that matters."

"Aside from Derik."

Mr. John chuckled. "Yes dear. Aside from Derik no one was hurt. Anyway I came to tell you that I saw what happened and I'll give Kate another pie. I'll be right back." He turned and walked to wherever he kept the food. I set down the knife on the table and sighed in relief. Thank god I wasn't in trouble. I sit back down in my seat and see that Amethyst had covered Kate's eyes. When she saw me sit down she uncovered Kate's eyes. "Why'd you do that?" Kate demanded, confused. You didn't need to see that. Amethyst replied. Kate crossed her arms and tried to look upset. A bit later after Kate had gotten her extra meat pie, we paid Mr. John and left. As we left I felt people's eyes on my back. I heard them whisper. I ignored them, but knew what they were all thinking. I had made an impact on them. Wether it was good or bad, I had no idea.

As we walked down the cobblestone path, Amethyst suddenly screamed. Clay, Kate, and I all jump and turn to her. "What is it?! What's wrong?!?" I yell, frantically looking around for any sign of danger. Aira, your leg! She shrieked, pointing at my knee. I frown.

"Uh, what about it?"

"It's bleeding!"

"What?!"

I look down and see blood staining through my pants and slowly growing on my knee. Oh. . . I say softly. I hadn't noticed it until she pointed it out. I must have gotten it when Derik tripped me. It was beginning to sting, and I was getting a bit light headed. I was usually very good with blood. If someone was bleeding, I'd be able to help them. If a tooth needed pulling out, I could do it without even flinching. But if it's my own blood? Well. . . Let's just say I'm not the best at seeing my own. "Ooh, don't feel good. Do not feel good." I say, nausea washing over me. "Ugh, I'm going down." I promptly fell on my knees and clutched my stomach. Aira?! Are you ok? Amethyst was at my side in an instant, eyes wide with concern. What surprised me was that Clay was on my other side, peering at me. My stomach rolled over. My knee stung. "Don't feel good." I choke out. "Oh, uh, um, oh, Aira what do I do? Um, we can get you a bandaid! Wait, bandaids don't exist yet. Um, maybe a bandage?" Amethyst murmured worryingly. "I'll take care of this." Clay said. "Aira, can you stand?" "Um, maybe." I stand up and sway a bit. "Good. Can you walk?" I mange to nod. "Ok, let's go to see Meli at the Infirmary." He said. We walked to the infirmary (well, they walked I stumbled) only to find it was empty. "I'll go see if I can find Meli." Amethyst declared. "I'll come with you!" Kate said quickly. Amethyst and Kate left, leaving me alone with Clay. I still clutched my stomach but the nausea was subsiding.

"Sit down." Clay said gesturing to one of the beds. I walk over to it and sit down. Clay's footsteps echoed through the infirmary as he looked through the cupboards and cabinets. It then struck me. Oh my god. . .

   I was trapped in a room alone with       
                       a random boy.